Hyson instantly fell in love with the candies that Mu Chenyan made for him. He couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear at the sight of his candies in different shapes. There was a butterfly, a bunny, and even a bear.
One would think that since the candies looked so good he might not have the heart to eat all the candies but the reality is always bitter. Hyson ate the candies with relish and didn't even listen when Yue said his teeth would rot! Hyson didn't give a damn about his teeth.
When he was young, he didn't get to eat sweet candies. Yue was always caring about his teeth. And back then, trying to be economical, he had actually told his mother that he didn't like candies. Even when he saw all the other kids eating candies, he kept telling himself that he didn't like sweet things.
Perhaps, his younger self did end up believing his own lie that he didn't like sweet things. But the older he grew, he couldn't stop himself from having a sweet tooth. His sweet tooth was the reason that he always pestered Raelle for ice cream. But for eating ice cream, he had set a condition that the ice cream had to be bought by Raelle or else he won't even look at it.
Zhai Yanjun found Hyson to be more and more like a kid.
"Fai, do you like it?" asked Mu Chenyan.
"I love it!" answered Hyson with a radiant face. "Thank you, Yanyan! You're always the best!"
Mu Chenyan couldn't help ruffling his hair lovingly as she said, "Next time, I'll blow you a sugar piece with my impeccable technique. It'll look so life-like that you'll fall in love with it."
"Mm... I'm waiting!" said Hyson excitedly.
Zhai Yanjun had seen all of this since Grandfather Xiang had asked him to stay. Since Zhai Yanjun's grandfather always praised his grandson, Grandfather Xiang had always been intrigued to know more about Zhai Yanjun. The last time when he came, they didn't get the chance to have a good chat. But this time was different since both of them had time.
And it had to be said that Grandfather Xiang found Zhai Yanjun to be quite likable. Perhaps, it was because Zhai Yanjun was an army man which reminded Grandfather Xiang of his old days, or perhaps it was because Zhai Yanjun had been raised by his grandparents, but whatever the reason was the result was that Grandfather Xiang had lots and lots of things to talk with Zhai Yanjun and he quite enjoyed spending time with him.
He could see his friend's image in Zhai Yanjun and nodded his appreciation. Indeed, this young man deserved the praises his grandfather always shower him with.
Zhai Yanjun was even there when Raelle had called Grandfather Xiang and he even got to hear the 'lecture' that Mu Chenyan gave Shui Xian.
And he couldn't help feeling pity for Shui Xian for a minute but that only lasted for a minute. After that, he was really feeling happy to see Shui Xian going through this lecture. He could even imagine Shui Xian's face at the moment which put him in an even brighter mood. He was really a good friend who would laugh seeing his good friend without any scruples and why not? Shui Xian had way too many moments to laugh at him in the past!
He only got his chance today!
"You seem to be avoiding me," said Zhai Yanjun to Hyson when he finally got the chance to sit alone with Hyson.
Hyson looked up at him before shrugging his shoulders, "I have no reason to do that. But I don't think we are familiar enough either for me to sit down and chat with you."
"That's true," agreed Zhai Yanjun. "You actually make me feel quite envious."
"Envious? Why?" asked Hyson.
"You have a good relationship with everyone around you and it seems it's quite easy for you as well," said Zhai Yanjun. "Whether it's Granduncle Xiang, Miss Mu, Raelle, or even your mother. You seem really close to all of them."
"Aren't we supposed to be close to family?" Hyson asked him with his eyes focused on his expression. There wasn't a single change on Zhai Yanjun's face that could be missed by Hyson's keen gaze.
"Maybe," answered Zhai Yanjun uncertainly. He really wasn't sure about Hyson's answer. "Although I don't have friends, I have colleagues and acquaintances. And I have never seen any of them having such a cozy relationship with their families. Now, take even Xian as an example. He is neither that close to his father nor his sister."
Hyson looked at him inquisitively, "You talked about others. What about you?"
Zhai Yanjun stilled when he heard that question. He always felt uncomfortable talking about his family. In fact, there was a time he felt repulsed by the thought of family. It changed as he grew up and joined the military. Now he wasn't the kid who would easily get scared but he was still that kid at heart who felt insecure and uneasy whenever his family was mentioned.
"I'm close to my grandparents," he told Hyson with a sincere smile. "They both are precious to me."
Since he didn't bring up his parents, Hyson tactfully chose not to ask about them either. He never liked it when people asked about his father. And since he didn't like it himself, he wouldn't make Zhai Yanjun uncomfortable with his questions.
Even if he was certain that Zhai Yanjun was his mum's nephew, he had no feelings regarding this information. He neither wanted to get too close to him to learn about his family situation nor did he want to be cold to him to put the blame for whatever happened to his mum.
"You have a beautiful mother," Zhai Yanjun suddenly said to Hyson. "She is nice. In fact, she seems too good to be true."
"But my mum claims she isn't any different from other mothers," said Hyson.
"No way! She is different but in a good way," argued Zhai Yanjun. "In this era, the mothers who genuinely care about their kids are rare."
Hyson frowned when he heard that but he didn't argue with him. Because just thinking about Raelle's mother already made him believe in Zhai Yanjun's words. Indeed, not all mothers cared about their kids. Some would even abandon them for the sake of their own happiness.
People say children are the happiness and yet, they don't take a moment before abandoning them in the pursuit of happiness. After all, kids have always been a hindrance for modern people.
"By the way, can I get your autograph?" asked Zhai Yanjun out of nowhere surprising Hyson.
"Why?"
"I heard you're really popular," said Zhai Yanjun. "People say military men are uncouth and know nothing about trends. I think I can get a girlfriend if they find out I know a popular idol."
"I don't think I have that appeal," said Hyson.
"But I think you do," answered Zhai Yanjun. He pulled out his phone and showed it to him, "See how popular you are. You only posted that photo of your birds like an hour and a half ago and there are already thousands of comments and likes are reaching millions."
"You're following me?" asked Hyson in surprise.
"I am," said Zhai Yanjun as he smiled sheepishly. He didn't want to bring up the topic of how he looked up everything about Hyson online. He spent quite a while doing his 'research.' "Why? I can't do that?"
"No," said Hyson. "I'm just surprised that you even have the time to open a social media account."
"I don't use it that often," told Zhai Yanjun. He was definitely not gonna tell him that he just registered his account to follow him. Just the idea that Hyson might be related to him had made him excited. He obviously wished that Yue was really his aunt and with that, he'll get a little cousin like Hyson as well.
Since Zhai Yanjun had been an only child in both his paternal and maternal families, he had never had a sibling or even a cousin. So the idea of getting one was quite novel to him. He subtly wanted to approach Hyson and didn't want to impose their relationship.
Hyson actually found his changing expressions to be quite interesting. He smirked before throwing his head back and sighing, "A Captain like you should not admire unemployed idol like me. I'm like the useless waste right now with no work on my hand."
"When did My Little Prince become so sentimental?" came Grandfather Xiang's voice.
Hyson pouted at Grandfather Xiang, "How can I not be emotional? Don't you know about the entertainment industry? Even if you have fame today, tomorrow a new sun will rise up. It's all about ups and downs."
"Say a word, I'll make people line up before you with offers," said Mu Chenyan imposingly.
"Yeah. Although I'm old, don't underestimate what I can do," Grandfather Xiang chimed in.
Hyson laughed out at that, "Aww! I love you guys but even if I really become unemployed, I won't go broke!"
"Well, how can my little prince even go broke?"
"Exactly!"
Zhai Yanjun watched them play out their act. Suddenly, Yue extended her phone to him. He saw the phone screen and read her words, 'Don't pay attention to them. All three of them love to act their play when they have nothing better to do. Just enjoy yourself with their nonsense.' Zhai Yanjun's smile grew bigger when he read that.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺